Editor’s Note: This article contains graphically explicit language and may make some readers uncomfortable. Profanities are censored using dashes to represent the remaining letters.
University of Richmond administrators and members of the Greek system say they are taking swift action after a fraternity recruitment officer sent an e-mail that included graphically explicit language encouraging recruits to come to fraternity parties.
While reporting this story, Collegian staff writers were shown additional e-mails that were circulated among members of other fraternities and contained graphically racist and sexist language. Several people who spoke about the issue declined to comment on the record.
The e-mail — written by Kappa Sigma’s recruitment chairman — details the group’s weekend events and tells first-year recruits to “bring your favorite freshman skeezas so they can get a c - - k thrown in em by whoever. hopefully if you brought em u can finish the deal.” A skeeza is slang for a sexually promiscuous woman.
Other fraternity members, who addressed The Collegian anonymously, said that this was not the worst of fraternity e-mails.
Earlier in the e-mail, the chairman describes a coming apartment party:
“The place to be is clearly in the back, where the music is the loud as f - - - and some blacked out bitch is grinding on four dudes at once. good memory to think about in your friday morning class.”
Keith McCalla, the fraternity’s president, said the person had been immediately removed from his position with the fraternity, but would remain a fraternity member pending the university’s disciplinary action. The Collegian is not printing the chairman’s name because of the topic’s sensitive nature.
“The Kappa Sigma Fraternity does not condone nor tolerate the degradation of women, or anyone else for that matter,” McCalla wrote in a statement Wednesday night. “We have a fraternity Code of Conduct that is to be adhered to by all Kappa Sigma brothers and pledges. … Unfortunately, one of our members authored an e-mail that was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the culture our chapter promotes. The e-mail was sent without the knowledge of any other Kappa Sigma. … Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken by the fraternity.
“We are saddened by and apologize to the university community for this lack of judgment by one of our members and the offense it has caused. We have undertaken remedial action to be certain this type of incident is not repeated.”
The student who wrote the e-mail issued an apology saying that the comments were made in jest, and that he did not intend to “demean females or jeopardize their integrity.”
“To say that the content of the e-mail was offensive to women would be a gross understatement,” he wrote. “Nothing said in the e-mail is a reflection of the views of anyone in Kappa Sigma. I beg you from the bottom of my heart to not let this event alter your opinions of my brothers and Kappa Sigma as a whole.
“I know I have offended all of you with what I wrote in the e-mail,” he continued. “I attempted to make a joke, but I admit that I took it way too far, and the only thing I succeeded in doing was infuriating the female population on this campus. For this, I am truly, deeply sorry.”
The Richmond College dean’s office is investigating whether to punish the student for violating the university’s standards of student conduct, Steve Bisese, vice president for student development, wrote in an e-mail to faculty, staff and students Wednesday night. The fraternity member faces judicial discipline within the Greek system.
Bisese said the incident signaled the need for a broader campus discussion about misogyny and gender stereotyping. University officials said Richmond and Westhampton colleges would be holding forums to discuss gender, respect and standards of personal conduct.
“There are members of the fraternity that are as appalled as the women are,” said Alison B. Keller, director of Greek life and associate director of student activities. “It’s not going to be swept under the rug. It’s being addressed swiftly and carefully. This isn’t just a Greek issue, it’s the community.”
The e-mail drew condemnation from Greek life leaders Lizzie Barry, president of Panhellenic Council, and David McCormick, president of the Interfraternity Council.
Both Greek leaders said they were committed to using this incident as a way to talk about the issue and educate the university community. All sororities met Wednesday night to discuss how they felt about the e-mail.
“It’s not a Greek-life issue specifically,” Barry said. “These are issues that are beyond our community.”
She said she had not seen an e-mail like this one before, but was aware it happened on campus. McCormick said the IFC was disappointed with the fraternity member’s “degrading and vulgar comments toward women.”
He said when he became IFC president, his first goal was to break down social stereotypes each fraternity had. He said members of the Greek community were planning to hold an open forum to offer students a chance to express their opinions sometime after fall break.
“We’re trying to work through the situation,” Barry said. “I wish it didn’t happen in this manner, but we can use it for education.”
Westhampton Dean Juliette Landphair said she and Richmond College Dean Joe Boehman met during the summer to talk about themed parties fraternities were hosting on campus. Recent events have included “CEOs and Corporate Hoes” and “Predators and Prey.”
“I would say it’s not just the Greek community,” Boehman said. “Some of the theme parties I have heard about were from sports clubs, some of them were from other student organizations, and some of them were just apartment parties.”
Landphair said some women perceived these parties as a joke.
“They say, ‘Why are you so serious?’” she said of women who challenge this sentiment. “‘It’s fun, you get to dress up.’ There are women who like the sexualization.”
Some women will have the same reaction when they read the Kappa Sigma e-mail, she said, while others may be hurt by the comments.
“Some people will be devastated emotionally because they’ve been victims of sexual violence,” Landphair said.
She raised strong concerns that the words would lead to sexual violence.
Said Landphair: “Men need to stand up and challenge other men.”
Fraternity members throughout the system have recently attended risk-management seminars and retreats about alcohol and parties, Keller said. Last week, fraternities attended a program about sexual assault, Landphair said.
The Kappa Sigma e-mail was sent last Wednesday to fraternity recruits.
University officials were alerted about the e-mail Tuesday afternoon, but it had already been forwarded to members of multiple sororities, who quickly circulated it among their members and others outside the Greek community.
“I think what surprises me is that people could interpret it as a joke,” Keller said.
Keller quickly condemned the remarks written in the Kappa Sigma e-mail, sending a statement to Greek life students Tuesday night.
The scandal comes at time when President Edward Ayers and others within the university community are drafting the university’s strategic plan — a document that states improving diversity and inclusivity should be one of the university’s five main principles.
Keller said she had contacted the chapter adviser, the national fraternity office, the chapter president and the Panhellenic executive officers. Top university officials convened early Wednesday to determine a response to the incident.
“I assure you that we will continue our commitment to maintaining a community that is respectful, open and committed to equality,” Bisese wrote.
Boehman said he was angry because the e-mail was offensive to both men and women at Richmond.
Still, university officials said they did not believe this was an isolated incident on campus.
“We have a good number of men on this campus who are respectful of women, who do not participate in sexist or misogynistic comments, and yet this person put this out there,” Boehman said. “That’s not keeping with the values of a Richmond College man. We value a positive image for masculinity.”
A bias-response team is going to be addressing the large-scale programmatic response to the incident, Boehman said.
“I wish that it was an isolated incident,” Boehman said. “I don’t think that it is. Do I have specific evidence? No. If I did, we would be addressing it. I would be naïve to think that it is.
“For the entire community, there is a level of acceptance of behavior and a failure to act that is saddening to me. It’s disheartening.”
Contact the newspaper’s editor-in-chief at editor@thecollegianur.com
Nov. 20, 2008
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I think the disrespect of women can be blamed on today’s rap music. Kids today fill their heads with garbage and as a result, only garbage comes out.
“There are women who like the sexualization.” — No kidding. I guess that would explain the over $5billion in sales recorded by Victoria’s Secret in 2006.
I put forth that every sorority girl gets to “paddle” the culprit.
Hey, at least this kid’s out there.
Disrespectful and disgusting. UVA students are much cooler.
Hey. You win some, you lose some.
Look, Roscoe’s another bus for formal. I say we keep him in.
As an alumnus of the university it deeply saddens me to see this article and the comments posted below it. It is disppointing and digusting that so many would take the issue so lightly and even think to make jokes. Not only have these fraternities stooped to the lowest of the low by taking advantage of U of R’s women, they are marring the face of the prestigious image that the university is working so hard to create. I can only hope that everyone looks long and hard at this issue, so that it is not thrown by the wayside for another innocent female to be taken advantage of.
I think I speak for all U of R Kappa Sigma alumni in expressing my deep shame for the direction that my once beloved fraternity is headed.
I remember a brotherhood strengthened by community service events, homemade bread sponsored dance parties, and respectful dinner dates with girls.
It’s a shame that the brotherhood has stooped so low…
While the email is inappropriate, the adminstration ought to look at the way some, not all, of the women protray THEMSELVES. Go to a lodge party and look at the women in line. Notice how they are dressed. Notice how they act. Frankly, notice the level of self-respect (or lack thereof). When fraternities have their theme parties, do no girls show up? Of course they do and they’re dressed to the 9’s, unless it’s a Lamda Chi party. Those parties are generally filled with a bunch of swords.To sit here and make a mountain of a molehill over a silly email is ridiculous and seems to me to be a waste of the University’s time and resources. Maybe they could focus on having tuition not be $40k+ a year. Why don’t we address that and worry about emails / attitudes that, for better for worse, are common place around campus later.
To “Anonymous,”
It seems U of R did not teach sarcasm and irony in your day.
Also, looks “long and hard”?
Come on.
As a former FEMALE UR grad I ask you all this question: If we can’t play dress up and pretend to be in a rap video are we truly free? UR is a very academically challenging university and after reading, typing, and calculating Capital Asset Pricing Models five nights a week, the themed party scene provided a much-safer-than-average and necessary environment to let loose, relax and enjoy the experiences that yield responsible adults. After graduation I may have not remembered how to write a term paper using proper ASA citation or exactly how to calculate electron transference between atoms but I did learn that life is all about balance. As long as your responsibilities are satisfied, you can party however you choose. So, while the language in the email may have been crude and mistakenly subjected to innocent parties, the language is no less offensive than that being used on MTV or on any Hip Hop cd. Live and let live.
Nowhere in the article did I read the method of this email’s distribution and to whom it was distributed. While some may easily argue that what was written is disgusting, I am having trouble understanding what rights the school has to taken any action. Please provide more information on the “university’s standards of student conduct.” From the limited information in the article it seems as though the Rush Chairman was merely imparting information and ideas - completely in his right.
Personally, there are lot more important things that the univeristy could be working on then going after this student for using poor judgement. How about working on truly making U.R. affordable to any student that is selected for admission?
Reading comments above truly is mind-boggling. I admit that I used to view UofR in high regards. But not as of now.
But again, my opinion does not matter, though.
LOL
R-
by the way…..this kid has been suspended, and it’s a real shame that the admin had to go to these extremes to make an example out of him…guess there is not much going on in the richmond bubble. probably would have been appropriate to accept his apology and move on….
I seem to remember a couple of years ago, in a Collegian opinion article, where certain university sororities were mentioned, and I kid you not, as “cum dumpsters” and “cum landfills.” Where was the reaction to this email? Where was the CBS channel 6 reaction? There was not one. It seems to me that the school is throwing this poor kid under the bus, when it had been going on before him.
Look, this kid got his email read by his entire target audience, and more - a lot more. As far as I can see, he is the best viral marketer to come out of U of R.
If he is suspended - which is ridiculous, since it would probably be a lot more effective to keep him there and get lots of dirty looks - I’ll tell you what, I could use him in my Marketing department. Give me a call Roscoe.
Typical Brother Hollywood trying to steal the spotlight from some kid to draw attention to the fact that you own a business. Big deal. What do you do, pay illegals sub-minimum wage to clean boats? Con people into buying poorly built condos intended for low-income use?
You’re probably not angry at U of R for punishing this kid, but instead at yourself because you never wrote so eloquently as Rush Chair. What’s more, this kid writes about getting laid and probably does it, too (especially now that he’s ‘famous’). You just spent your college years either making up stories about getting laid or lusting after girls far out of your league… and on the rare occasion you did succeed, it was either because of your nasty hot tub or it resulted in your car burning to a crisp.
blame it on the rap music? This isnt 1993 and south central LA….this is the bubble know as UR. get a grip.
what happened to the days of toga/ice block/studio 54 at emily lane? I miss bugg out #7s at the Pier….
RIP Frank Courtney Nicodemus……
This e-mail was decidedly in bad taste and reflects poorly on both Kappa Sigma and the University and deserves disciplinary action. However, if the rumor is true that this student has been suspended, I am genuinely shocked and disheartened at the equally poor-judgment shown by the administration in levying this life-altering punishment.
Has UR really become the kind of humorless, puritanical institution that would ruin a young man’s life over a misguided attempt at a joke?
Let’s look at the facts for a moment. This e-mail was sent to a limited audience and, though poorly executed, was intended to be a work of satire. It was even signed under a humorous pseudonym rather than in the student’s real name. As many have pointed out, if anything, the joke highlights the pressing social conditions at UR that are in need of change. This e-mail was not an instruction manual on how to behave at a lodge party; it was a cynical jab at the events that take place at all lodges. All of us have seen the movies “Old School”, “Wedding Crashers” or “Animal House” (each of which contains dialogue that make this e-mail pale in comparison). No one takes these films as genuine suggestions on how one should behave, so why place the same gravity on an e-mail written in the same vein? If this is the way the University reacts to satire, perhaps the administration should look into awarding an honorary posthumous suspension to Jonathan Swift for penning “A Modest Proposal”.
Admittedly, when circulated to a larger audience, any sarcasm is lost and what started as a moment’s poor taste becomes a disciplinary matter. No one is contending that the student is blameless, but the punishment must fit the crime. Being un-funny should not be a suspendable offense. Yes, the student should offer an apology to the school, attend sensitivity counseling and perform a great deal of community service, but to ruin this student’s life by suspending him from school for a youthful indiscretion is over-the-top.
On a concluding note, equating this e-mail with sexual assault or the encouragement of that sort of behavior is unconscionable. Not only does this suggestion create an environment where it is impossible to give this student’s behavior a fair shake, it trivializes the actual offense of sexual assault which does this community a far greater disservice than any e-mail ever could.
I urge the administration to reconsider the lasting consequences this rash decision will have upon this young man’s life. Is it not the purpose of higher education to mold a misguided youth into a person of intellectual and moral substance? A suspension merely shirks this responsibility.
This email found it’s way to my inbox today. Amazing. This guy deserves a medal. Does it make me a skeeza if I ended up marrying the one who threw it in me at a KS party? Hmm…
Words of wisdom for current Westhampton college students: There will come a day when you’ll read articles like this and sigh as you recall your glory days dancing on tables in the backs of apt parties, grinding on as many different guys as you want, drinking for free, caging shady rides to off campus parties, ordering late night pizza, and rolling your eyes at the school’s stuffy reaction to all of your fun.
Calm down UR, you’re still overreacting to things that just aren’t that big a deal.
predators and prey??? why didnt we ever think of that fellow alums? brilliant!!!
can someone explain this “code of conduct” that lets bisese & co. suspend someone for writing a private email?
also, why was “cavemen & sluts” not mentioned as a theme party? that was one of best!
This is a reaction to something that’s really not a big deal. Bisese’s regulation of private email correspondence also intruiges me. Somebody call the Whaambulance.
ABSOLUTE MALARKEY! this type of language should not be tolerated! I am outraged and deeply offended!
Remember the time we had that “CEOs and Roofies party?” Ahhh the good old days
Really, is the Kappa Sigma rush chair the problem?
I think that this issue that the entire university needs to deal with, men and women alike. He has made his amends and has received enough punishment as his reputation in the university community has been completely damaged. This email is nothing. As a member of the Westhampton College community, I find only one sentence offensive, and even that sentence has some truth to it. The University of Richmond needs to get over itself. They should look at the emails sent to the Collegian from other fraternities to see how bad they can really get. This email was intended as a joke and, while not a funny one, the intention of jest should be kept in mind.Why would this sophomore think such an email is acceptable? Maybe because he has received emails like them since the first week of freshman year.
FratMail is a part of life at the University of Richmond and those who are angered by its content are not even worthy of being called skeezas in the first place.
I am an alumnus from long ago and was in a fraternity. Looking back, we said many things that were immature and insensitive. As an adult, I cringe when I recall some of the trash that escaped my mouth. Let’s face it- most young guys in college are far from mature when it comes to gender relations. We are wired that way and don’t grow up until we hit 25.
Times have changed and the bar has been lowered as far as behavior goes. As bad as my generation could be, it never got to the level displayed in that e-mail. What has happened over the years? College has become an academic grind and students want to let go whenever they have a chance.
Use this regrettable incident as a springboard for students, faculty and administration to discuss the pressures of being students. You owe yourselves that. If you do, I and other alumni will be 100% behind you.
i’m just happy to see that the term “skeeza” still lives on at UR. nice work, guys.
The e-mail was forwarded to me at my home in Texas. That’s how far reaching this appalling incident has traveled. Unfortunately, I know this is not an isolated incident. This type of thing has been going on for years unaddressed by UR or the Greek system. While I find the e-mail abhorrent, I cannot find justification for suspending the student. For what? Having no class? What I also cannot understand is why the young women choose to attend parties where they are certain to be treated with such disdain. Why would they allow themselves to be marginalized and sexualized? Ladies, this same treatment and mindset carry over to the workplace where many of these Frat boys will be competing with you and often supervising you. You have worked hard, and your Daddy has paid lots for your fancy UR education. They can’t have a party without your attendance. Make these boys, they are certainly not men, treat you with respect…….and have some respect for yourselves as well.
What are you people talking about? How could you blame rap music, the school curriculum and even girls for what has been done?
The problem is that a guy from a certain fraternity, CHOSEN by his fellow “brothers,” has expressed his ideas, beliefs, etc. to the “rush” class. Now, of course, the people who represent Kappa Sig will tell you that he does not represent this fraternity’s “ideals”, but how was he chosen in the first place? I would like to hear the fraternity’s guidelines for recruitment (or whatever you call it).
Even though I think that fraternities serve absolutely no purpose on this small campus, I believe that the language that the student has used is by no means “unusual”. Students can hear this kind of language wherever they go . The reason why an example is being made of this particular student, is because now they have “hard evidence,” in the form of an email, that they can build upon in their discussions.
I also believe that this is not satire. While most of the e-mail could have been just “showing off” in front of the rush class, the level of detail in what he said indicates the sincerity in his remarks.
There are also talks of educating the student body about those issues. Nevertheless, I believe that the only real way of educating them would be to make everyone relive the first seven years of their lives. Students who deliberately cross the line of being a “Richmond man,” do it because they want to, not because they haven’t learned their lessons. Girl who go to those parties do it not because they don’t know what happens there, but because they want to go there.
The only real way of educating students would be to explain to them the reality of “Greek” life and what exactly they should expect from it. For example, leave out the “community building” aspect of it and concentrate more on the roofies, hazing, theme parties, grinding etc. This is where the administration should kick in — explain what really happens on this campus (especially to the freshmen). Anything beyond that point is just preaching to the choir.
Not well played fellas…but at least it wasn’t as bad as the Kappa Sig’s at OSU being called out by the Rolling Stone as ” drunken perverts, taking pills of ecstasy before hooking up with local sorority girls.”
Okay, firstly, i would like to say that the emai is disrespectful but in no way is a problem for Kappa Sig alone. To me, this is a culture issue, not necessarily an issue with the individual who sent out the email. Today’s culture and the living conditions at UR perpetuate the kind of attitude that was expressed in the email. But, putting that aside, the audacity of the administration to suspend the student for a year is utterly unacceptable. Until the university revokes their outragous reprimand and clears this students name, they will be recieving no more donations from me. Sure, the university must look to shift these unacceptable attitudes that were expressed in the email, but to completly ruin their own students future is unbelievable. The person responsible for the sanctions should be fired ASAP. In no way do I trust a Dean that jeopardizes the future of his own student by throwing him under the bus to make an example out of him. Outrageous. i hope the UR student body is in uproar.
Is this language used in the Universities Locker Rooms…Shutdown all teams immediately….Revenue Sources..Whoops..Can’t do that…Go ahead and blame the Financial Crisis and Iraq on this boy too….No one is held accountable anymore for real problems just ridiculous ones like this…Give the young man 50+ hours community service and be done with it…To harm a 20 year olds future in this way is unbelievable…It was in poor taste but we are all adults who will do MUCH worse than this…Does the military use such language…Yes…And don’t we all support the Military..Of Course…Words are what led to his Penalty…Words..Not Actions…There is a HUGE DIFFRENCE….Don’t you think…Many have said things…The ones that go thru with BAD WORDS are the ones to PUNISH
I want to thank everyone for their comments so far on this message board. What a beautiful example of the first ammendment! Where else can you read the words “cum dumpster” or “skeeza” used to describe women with such hillarity. Maybe it’s funnier because it’s not my frat, but I’ve read this page twice and sent it to all my friends! So keep the comments coming and I’ll check this page daily for progress. And any angry replies for this kid’s action just need to chill- he spoke to his friends, WAS RATTED OUT BY ONE OF HIS BROTHERS (which says a lot for the fraternity), and spoke in a joking manner as most guys honestly do.